4 Tips to Help Any High School Student Feel More Prepared For College

4 Tips to Help Any High School Student Feel More Prepared For College


Making the transition to college can be stressful. Many teens are not only worried about how they’ll make that transition, but also about how well prepared they are for the next step. If you have a teen who is anxious about college, you may want to lok at the tips below to help him or her feel more comfortable.

Talk to a College Counselor

One of the first steps that any family should take during this process is to talk to a college counselor. These counselors can help teens out quite a bit by giving them not only an honest look at what it takes to get into college, but a roadmap that will help them along the way. A good counselor will help the teen to make contacts, to get information, and ultimately to create a more realistic picture of what the college application process looks like.

Look at a College Prep Private School

If your student is worried about being academically prepared for college, you may want to take a look at enrolling him or her in a private school that focuses primarily on college prep. Not only do these schools give students an edge when it comes to academics, but they tend to have programs available that specifically prepare students for their next step. A good private school can help your child to feel more secure in his or her ability to function academically at a college level.

Visit Colleges

Another great way to help teens feel less nervous is to visit prospective colleges. This is typically done as teens get ready to apply, but there’s nothing stopping families from taking a quick campus tour at any point. Just getting the chance to see what a college really looks like can make things seem a bit less scary to the average teenager.

Try a Summer Program

Finally, it may be a good idea to let your teen experience college a little early by enrolling him or her in a local university summer program. These programs not only look great on college applications but they give students a chance to see what it’s like to live and work on a college campus. This is an especially useful idea for those students who already know what they want to do in college but who are not quite sure about how they’ll accomplish their goals.

Preparing a teen for college really is about more than teaching him or her how to take notes or do homework. You should visit campuses, look at summer programs, and even take a look at how your teen is being prepared for college academically. If you can give your teen a small leg up, he or she will feel more confident moving forward.